Ch 2 India’s Long Road To Independence Notes Class 8

Exploring Society: India and Beyond
——————————————
Social Science Textbook for
Grade 8 | Part 2

Notes
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Chapter 2

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A Royal Proclamation

British Crown Takes Over

1858 → After Uprising of 1857, British Crown (Queen Victoria) took direct control of India from the East India Company

Governance Structure:
● Secretary of State for India — based in London
● Viceroy = Governor General(Queen’s representative ) — based in India

Royal Proclamation (1858)

● Promised to respect “rights, dignity and honour of native Princes”
● ~560 Indian princes to rule their states under British “Paramountcy”
● Indian subjects assured equal treatment with “all our other subjects”
● No imposition of Christianity

Paramountcy → British supremacy over princely states

Reality vs Promise

Continued Economic Exploitation:
● Heavy land taxes → severe famines
● Worst affected: peasants and tribals
● British goods destroyed local industry

Racial Discrimination:
● Indians treated as “inferior races”
● Lower pay for Indians in all govt services
● Juries mostly British → lenient on Europeans’ crimes
● Indians barred from clubs, trains, certain city areas, public spaces

Repressive Acts (1878):

Reform Movements

Indian reformers challenged:
● Lack of formal education
● Child marriage
● Degraded status of widows
● Caste-based discrimination

Movements, Leader and Contributions

Other Influences

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

● 1860s → Sub-magistrate in a district of Bengal
● Wrote popular Bengali novels on romance & Indian history — among the first in any Indian language
● 1882 → Published Anandamath :

⁘ During Sannyasi Rebellion & the 1770 Bengal famine
⁘ For Sannyasi, motherland = divine mother
⁘ Contains the poem Bande Mataram
⁘ Invoked India’s heritage for freedom.

Swami Vivekananda

Disciple of Sri Ramakrishna.

Contributions:
● 1893 Chicago Speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
● Spread Indian spirituality in India, America, and Europe
● Founded the Ramakrishna Mission:
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘To combined spirituality with social service.

Ideas:
● Self-confidence and fearlessness.
● “Arise, awake…”
● Made Jamsetji Tata to establish the Indian Institute of Science.
● Blind imitation of the West ✗
● India’s spiritual heritage.

Legacy:
● Inspired freedom fighters.
● 12 January = National Youth Day.

The Rise of the Indian National Congress

Background:
●Allan Octavian Hume blamed British for poverty in India
●He resigned in 1882
●Brought together like-minded Indians

Formation of Indian National Congress (INC):
● 1885 → (INC) launched
● First session → Bombay
● 72 delegates present → mostly from Anglicised upper classes

Key Founders/Leaders:
● Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee → first president
● A.O. Hume — brought founders together
● Dadabhai Naoroji — prominent advocate, leading role

Early Approach of the Indian National Congress:
● Loyal to the British Crown.
● Believed in the benefits of British rule.

Method
● Held annual sessions in different cities.
● Passed resolutions.
● Preferred dialogue over confrontation towards British rule

Main Demands:
● Greater Indian participation in governance.
● Protection of civil rights.
● Social and economic reforms.

Belief Of INC:
● Reforms would reduce Indian discontent.

British Response:
● Ignored Congress resolutions
● Granted only minor concessions
● Denied Indians participation in governance

Growing Discontent

Kuka (Namdhari) Movement

● Led by Baba Ram Singh
● Namdhari = followers of God’s name.
● 1860s–1870s, Punjab.
● Called Kukas for their loud prayer chants.

Social Reforms:
● Female infanticide ✗
● Child marriage ✗
● Simplified marriages to discourage dowry.

Protest Against British Rule
● Boycotted foreign goods.
● Wore hand-spun white clothes.
● Started own postal system and private courts.
● Cow slaughter✗

British Response:
● 1872: Kukas attacked slaughterhouses.
● 65 Kukas executed without trial.
● Baba Ram Singh exiled to Burma, died there.

Kuka (Namdhari) Movement
Inspired self-reliance and boycott movements.

Chapekar Brothers

● 1896 → Severe famine + bubonic plague outbreak in Maharashtra
● Harsh British anti-epidemic = resentment
● 1897 → Three Chapekar brothers killed British Plague Commissioner of Poona & a British military officer
● Chapekar brothers arrested, and hanged

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Revolutionary Secret Societies

Anushilan Samiti:
● 1902, Bengal.
● Centres → towns and villages
● Trained youth in intellectual, moral, and physical development

Leadership of Anushilan Samiti:
● Aurobindo Ghose coordinated its activities.
● Barindra Kumar Ghose (Barin) helped organise the movement.

➢ Tilak closely associated with V.D. Savarkar’s Abhinav Bharat.

Birsa Munda and Tribal Resistance

Birsa Munda:
● Munda tribe, Chota Nagpur.
● Opposed British rule, landlords, and missionary activities.
● Worked for tribal rights, faith, and dignity.

Ulgulaan (1899–1900):
● Led the Ulgulaan (Great Tumult).
● Urged tribals to reject colonial rule and reclaim land.
● Police stations + churches attacked.

British Response:
● Many Mundas were killed.
● Birsa arrested in 1900.
● Died in jail at 24.

Birsa Munda = Prophet of tribal revival
He is as a tribal hero in eastern India.

The 1905 Partition of Bengal and National Awakening

Partition of Bengal

Background:
● George Curzon (Viceroy) proposed partition of Bengal Presidency
● Bengal Presidency was = Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam
● Official reason for partition → more efficient administration
● Real reason for partition → “Divide and Rule” policy — split largely Muslim East Bengal from largely Hindu West Bengal

Partition Announced:
● 1905 → by Curzon
● Provoked widespread outrage
● Leaders uniting people :
●●●●●●➢ Rabindranath Tagore,
●●●●●●➢ Surendranath Banerjee,
●●●●●●➢ Bipin Chandra Pal,
●●●●●●➢ Ashwini Kumar Dutt
● Bengal partition = attack on Bengal’s identity & Hindu-Muslim solidarity

2. Unplanned mass awakening

Two Results of Partition

1. Hindu–Muslim Divide
● Increased Hindu–Muslim tensions.
● Many Muslim leaders supported partition for development and government jobs.

2. Unplanned mass awakening:
● Meetings, processions, and protests spread across Bengal.
● Vande Mataram sung
● Vande Mataram banned in public
● Students joined.
● Rakhi-tying between Hindu and Muslims
● Movement spread beyond Bengal.

Swadeshi and Boycott Movements

Swadeshi:
Swadeshi = “of one’s own country” → promote Indian-made goods
● Promoted Indian-made goods.
● Strengthened Indian industries.
● Reduced dependence on British goods.

Boycott:
Boycott = reject foreign-made goods
● Rejected foreign goods.
● Bonfires of foreign cloth and other goods.
● Wore hand-spun Indian cloth as a symbol of self-reliance and national pride

Wider Boycott:
● Boycotted government schools, colleges, and courts.
● Limited success due to lack of Indian schools, colleges, etc.

Goal of Boycott :
● Strengthen Indian industries,
● Reduce economic dependence on British goods

Partition of Bengal (1905)
↓
Public Outrage & Protests
↓
Swadeshi + Boycott Movements
↓
National Awakening (spread beyond Bengal)

The Nationalist Agenda

◉ Swaraj — self-rule
◉ Swadeshi
◉ Boycott
◉ National Education — Indian-controlled education
◉ Passive Resistance — non-violent resistance method

Bande Mataram (English Newspaper):
● 1906 → launched by Bipin Chandra Pal
● Joined by Aurobindo Ghose
● Spread the idea of India’s freedom

National Education & Passive Resistance:
● Spelt out “doctrine of passive resistance” to resist colonial power
● To counter English education, National Education added to Swadeshi-Boycott.

Bengal National College:
● 1906 → National Council of Education created
● It launched Bengal National College → Indian education
● Aurobindo Ghose → first principal
● Taught Indian thoughts & values + modern disciplines
● Bengal National College integrated to Jadavpur University

Congress Declares Nationalist Programme:
● December 1906 → Calcutta Congress session
●●●●●●➢ President: Dadabhai Naoroji
●●●●●●➢ Declared Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education → Congress objectives

◉ Swaraj (self-rule) → not clearly defined
●●●●●●➢ Many meanings:
1. Self-rule within the British Empire to
2. Full independence

The All-India Muslim League

Formation:
● December 1906 → in Dhaka
● After Swadeshi Movement

Objective:
● Defend Muslim political interests

Reasons for the formation of the Muslim League:
● Growing distrust of Congress
● Fear → Muslims under represented in Hindu dominated congress
● Syed Ahmad Khan → talked against congress
●●●●●●➢ 1886 → Syed Ahmad Khan Founded “All India Muhammadan Educational Conference“= Muslim political platform

This Hindu-Muslim political division = Two-Nation Idea

The 1907 Surat Split

Background:
● Calcutta session + “Swaraj” → alarmed British
● Pressured moderate Congress leaders
● Next session → Surat (Gujarat), December 1907

The Moderates:
● Backed out of Calcutta decisions
● Demanded small administrative changes + gradual self-government

Imp. Moderates:
● Dadabhai Naoroji
● Gopal Krishna Gokhale — educationist, founder of Servants of India Society
● Pherozeshah Mehta — Bombay lawyer
● Surendranath Banerjee — journalist & political leader
● Rashbehari Ghosh — Calcutta lawyer

The Nationalists:
● Tilak prevented from speaking → chaos in the session

● Nationalist camp led by:
●●●●●●●●●➢ Bal Gangadhar Tilak
● ●●●●●●●●➢ Lala Lajpat Rai — known as “Lion of Punjab”
● ●●●●●●●●➢ Aurobindo Ghose

Outcome :
● Congress split into two camps at Surat (1907)

Moderate VS Nationalists

The Revolutionaries

Radical Press:

◉ Nationalist papers
●●●●➢ Kesari ➜ Tilak
●●●●➢ Bande Mataram
●●●●➢ Yugantar (“New Era”)
●●●●●●●●⁘ Run by revolutionaries led by Barindra Kumar Ghosh
●●●●●●●●⁘ Linked to Anushilan Samiti
●●●●●●●●⁘ Radical Bengali paper
●●●●●●●●⁘ Preaching open revolt & violent overthrow of British rule;

◉ Moderate papers
●●●●➢ Voice of India ➜ Dadabhai Naoroji
●●●●➢ The Bengalee ➜ Surendranath Banerjee

Khudiram Bose & Prafulla Chaki:

● April 1908 → Tried to assassinate British judge Douglas Kingsford
● Bombed wrong → But killed two British ladies by mistake
● Prafulla Chaki shot himself before capture
● Khudiram Bose (age 18) → captured, tried, hanged

Alipore Bomb Trial:
● Aurobindo Ghose jailed at Alipore jail
● British called Aurobindo “the most dangerous man”
● Aurobindo defended by Chittaranjan Das in court

Outcome:
● Aurobindo → acquitted
● Barindra & one other → death sentence, commuted to life imprisonment (Cellular Jail, Andaman)

Crackdown on Nationalists:
● Bande Mataram suppressed
● Tilak prosecuted for sedition (articles in Kesari)
●●●➢ Lawyer: Muhammad Ali Jinnah
●●●➢ Trial rushed & unfair → 6 years jail in Mandalay (Myanmar)
● 1911 → Partition of Bengal withdrawn

Other Revolutionary Attacks

Ghadar Movement (1914–15):
● Pan-Indian mutiny in British Indian Army during
● Ghadar Party founded by Lala Hardayal and Sohan Singh Bhakna
● Rash Behari Bose, Sachindra Nath Sanyal (Sachin Sanyal), Kartar Singh Sarabha tried to infiltrate the army
● British executed :
●●●➢ Kartar Singh Sarabha
●●●➢ Vishnu Ganesh Pingle

Rash Behari Bose escaped to Japan → later founded the Indian National Army

Bagha Jatin (Jatin Mukherjee):
● Leader of Anushilan Samiti
● Bagha + Rash Behari Bose on the “German Plot” = receiving a German arms shipment
German Plot discovered → Bagha died in gun fight

Home Rule Movement and the Lucknow Pact

Tilak’s Return (1914):
● 1914 → Tilak released from jail
● Set himself three tasks:
●●●➢Reconcile & reunite the two Congress factions
●●●➢Promote Hindu–Muslim cooperation
●●●➢Work towards the ideal of home rule

Lucknow Session (1916):
● Task 1 achieved → Congress factions reunited at Lucknow session
● Lucknow Pact → Agreement between Indian National Congress and All-India Muslim League :
●●●➢ Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims in provincial & central legislative councils

Home Rule Movement (1916):
● Launched by Tilak with Annie Besant (Irish philosopher, reformer, political activist)
● Demanded self-government for India within the British Empire
● Not full independence

Home rule movement started the mass political mobilisation in the freedom struggle

Gandhi and the Non-Cooperation Movement

Early Life:
● Born 1869, Porbandar, Gujarat
● Studied in London
● Went to South Africa → Experienced racial discriminations + hardships
Developed method of Satyagraha
●●●➢ Based on: passive resistance, nonviolence (ahimsa), acceptance of suffering in quest for truth

Return to India:
● In 1915
● Joined Indian National Congress on advice of Gopal Krishna Gokhale
1918 → Applied Satyagraha to local grievances:
●●●➢ Indigo farmers, Bihar — exploitation
●●●➢ Mill workers, Ahmedabad — extremely low wages
●●●➢ Peasants of Kheda, Gujarat — excessive land revenue demands

Bardoli Movement:
● 1928 → Led by Vallabhbhai Patel — movement for peasant rights
most successful grassroots movements
Gandhi gave Patel title “Sardar” → became Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

The Non-Cooperation Movement

Causes of Non-Cooperation Movement
● End of World War I (1914–1918) still no freedom
● Wartime food exports → food shortages in India
● Massive defence expenditure → rising prices
● 1919 → Rowlatt Act:
●●●➢ Allowed police to detain anyone without trial
●●●➢ Curtailed civil liberties

Launch Non-Cooperation Movement:
● Nationwide protest against Rowlatt Act
●●●➢ Day of prayer and fasting
●●●➢ Urged Hindu-Muslim unity in satyagraha
● Promoted Swadeshi goods as a “religious duty”
● Non-violent resistance: boycott of foreign goods, schools, courts
● Promised Swaraj within a year if nonviolence followed

Formal Launch of Non Cooperation Movement:
● August 1920 → Tilak’s death → Gandhi = mass leader of Congress
● December 1920 → Non-Cooperation Movement launched at Congress’s Nagpur session
● Many supported including Vallabhbhai Patel
● Mass participation across India

Launch Non-Cooperation Movement:
● Nationwide protest against Rowlatt Act
●●●➢ Day of prayer and fasting
●●●➢ Urged Hindu-Muslim unity in satyagraha
● Promoted Swadeshi goods as a “religious duty”
● Non-violent resistance: boycott of foreign goods, schools, courts
● Promised Swaraj within a year if nonviolence followed

Formal Launch of Non Cooperation Movement:
● August 1920 → Tilak’s death → Gandhi = mass leader of Congress
● December 1920 → Non-Cooperation Movement launched at Congress’s Nagpur session
● Many supported including Vallabhbhai Patel
● Mass participation across India

Launch Non-Cooperation Movement:
● Nationwide protest against Rowlatt Act
●●●➢ Day of prayer and fasting
●●●➢ Urged Hindu-Muslim unity in satyagraha
● Promoted Swadeshi goods as a “religious duty”
● Non-violent resistance: boycott of foreign goods, schools, courts
● Promised Swaraj within a year if nonviolence followed

Formal Launch of Non Cooperation Movement:
● August 1920 → Tilak’s death → Gandhi = mass leader of Congress
● December 1920 → Non-Cooperation Movement launched at Congress’s Nagpur session
● Many supported including Vallabhbhai Patel
● Mass participation across India

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and its Aftermath

The Massacre:
13 April 1919 → Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar
● Thousands gathered for:
● Baisakhi festival
● Protesting arrest of local leaders + Rowlatt Act
● Brigadier-General Dyer sealed the main exit → ordered open fire on unarmed crowd

Impact:
● Public trust in British government ended
● United Indians for freedom

Dyer’s Aftermath:
● Known as “Butcher of Amritsar”
● His act was condemned but no penal action
● Removed from India
● British never apologised; called it “deeply shameful event in British history”

O’Dwyer & Udham Singh:
● O’Dwyer —
●●●➢ Punjab’s Lieutenant Governor,
●●●➢ Suppressed rights during his tenure;
●●●➢ Defended Dyer’s action
● Udham Singh (revolutionary, member of Ghadar Party) killed O’Dwyer in London
● Udham Singh arrested and hanged

The Khilafat Movement and its Aftermath

Background:
● Ottoman Empire —
●●●➢ Turkish-led empire
●●●➢ Rule – SE Europe, western Asia, north Africa
●●●➢ Head (Sultan), ruled from Constantinople
●●●➢ Sultan = Caliph/Khalifa = politico-religious leader of the Muslim world
● End of World War I (1914–1918) → Ottoman Empire dismembered; Caliph’s position became weak.

Launch of Khilafat Movement:
● 1919 → Khilafat Movement by:
●●●➢ Muhammad Ali & Shaukat Ali (“Ali brothers”)
●●●➢ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
● Aim: preserve the Caliph’s religious authority

Khilafat Alliance with Congress:
● Gandhi saw an opportunity to unite Hindus & Muslims
● 1920 → Alliance between Khilafat leaders & Congress
●●●➢ Promised to fight together for Khilafat and Swaraj
●●●➢ Merged with Non-Cooperation Movement

Criticism of Khilafat + Congress:
● Turkey’s Caliph issue was not India’s concern
● Syed Ahmad Khan was Doubtful→ Indian Muslim loyalty to a foreign religious power (“territorial loyalty“)
● Jinnah left Congress at its 1920 session, for mixing independence movement with religion

Chauri Chaura Incident & End of Non-Cooperation:
● February 1922, Chauri Chaura (Uttar Pradesh)
●●●➢ Protesters killed policemen
●●●➢ Set police station on fire
● Gandhi called this “inhuman conduct”
●●●➢ called off Non-Cooperation Movement
●●●●●●➢Many Congress leaders disapproved:
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘ Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das, Subhas Chandra Bose
● Motilal Nehru & C.R. Das formed the Swaraj Party

End of Khilafat Movement:
● Mustafa Kemal abolished:
●●●➢ Turkish sultanate — 1922
●●●➢ The Caliphate itself — 1924

Impact of Khilafat Movement:
● Temporarily united Hindus & Muslims
● Reinforced separateness among Indian Muslims
● Radical Muslim leaders emerged
● Hindu-Muslim riots

Protests, Repression and Revenge

Simon Commission (1927):
● 1927 → Simon Commission came to India to study constitutional reform
●●●➢ No Indian member included
●●●➢ Slogan: “Simon Go Back!”
●●●➢ Protesters waved black flags

Lala Lajpat Rai:
● October 1928, Lahore → Led nonviolent march against Simon Commission
● Police lathi-charged → Rai badly injured
● He said – blows struck at him would hasten the end of British rule
● His death inflamed national sentiment

Significance of simon commission:
● Simon Commission exposed British refusal to talk Indians about their future
● Indians demanded → complete self-rule

More revolutionary actions

Hindustan Republican Association (HRA):
● Inspired by the earlier Ghadar Movement
● Kakori Train Robbery — government money (near Lucknow)
●●●➢ Led by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad
●●●➢ British action → Bismil, Khan, and several others executed

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA):
● HRA reorganised as HSRA
● Leaders: Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh
● December 1928 → Aimed to avenge Lala Lajpat Rai’s death
●●●➢ Targeted the British officer who ordered the lathi-charge

Bhagat Singh — Central Assembly Bomb Case:
● 1929 →He dropped two low-intensity bombs in Delhi’s Central Legislative Assembly
● No death: “to make the deaf hear”
● Dropped pamphlets, slogans for revolution & justice
● Arrested
● Did long hunger strike for unjust treatment of Indian prisoners

Execution (1931):
● Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, Shivaram Rajguru hanged in 1931
● Bhagat Singh = symbol → resistance against colonial oppression
● Subhas Chandra Bose called him a symbol → unconquerable spirit of revolt

Women Revolutionaries

“free my country from “perpetual subjection to infinite shame and endless suffering” caused by British rule”
●●●➢ Bina Das

Purna Swaraj and Civil Disobedience

Nehru Report & Dominion Status (1928):
● 1928 → By Motilal Nehru (reaction to Simon Commission)
● Demanded “Dominion status” for India like Canada and Australia
●●●➢ Total internal autonomy
●●●➢ Britain control→ military & foreign policy
●●●➢ British king/queen → official head of state

Demand for Purna Swara:
● Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose demanded : “Purna Swaraj” (complete independence)
● Not a new demand — earlier voiced by:
●●●➢ Nationalist faction of Congress, two decades earlier
●●●➢ Aurobindo Ghose — 1908
●●●➢ Maulana Hasrat Mohani (member of both Congress & Muslim League) — 1921
●●●➢ V.D. Savarkar — 1925
● December 1929 → Congress’s Lahore session → Purna Swaraj resolution passed

Civil Disobedience Movement — Salt March:
● By Mahatma Gandhi to implement Purna Swaraj demand
● March–April 1930 → Salt March (Dandi March)
●●●➢ 380-km march to Dandi (Gujarat)
●●●➢ Gandhi collected salt
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘ Reason: British — monopoly on salt production + high salt tax → breaking this law = symbol against colonial rule

Spread of the Movement:
● Gandhi arrested
● Movement spread widely:
●●●➢ Salt marches in other regions
●●●➢ Boycott of foreign cloth
●●●➢ Refusal to pay taxes
●●●➢ Women :
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘ Broke the salt law,
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘ Joined processions,
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘ Picketed liquor shops & foreign cloth shops
⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘⁘ Stepped out of seclusion to join Congress demonstrations

Sarojini Naidu:
● Poet & Orator
● First Indian woman president of Congress — 1925
● Advocate of women’s voting rights
● Actively protested → arrested and imprisoned several times

Qissa Khwani Bazaar Massacre:
● 23 April 1930, Peshawar
● British troops fired on crowd protesting the arrest of Abdul Ghaffar Khan
● Two platoons of Royal Garhwal Rifles led by Chandra Singh Garhwali, refused to fire

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact
1931

British conceded:
● Released political prisoners not involved in violence
● Allowed limited private manufacture of salt

Congress conceded:
● Suspended Civil Disobedience Movement
● Agreed to attend the Round Table Conference in London

Significance of The Gandhi-Irwin Pact:
● First negotiation between British government & Congress as equals

Criticism & Aftermath The Gandhi-Irwin Pact:
● Younger Congress leaders criticised the pact — no guarantee of Purna Swaraj
● Gandhi resumed Civil Disobedience → British responded with massive arrests
● 1934 → Gandhi withdrew the Civil Disobedience Movement
● Congress shifted to constitutional methods

1935 Reform:
● British gave provincial autonomy
● Elected governments at provincial level
● British controlled: foreign affairs, defence, internal security
● British governors could take over provincial administration

Gandhi’s Campaign Against Untouchability:
● “Untouchables”:
●●●➢ Official term “Depressed Classes”
●●●➢ Constitution’s term “Scheduled Castes”
● B.R. Ambedkar wanted separate electorates for Depressed Classes
● Gandhi feared separate electorates would permanently divide Hindu society
● Gandhi began a “fast unto death” in protest

Poona Pact between Gandhi and Ambedkar:
● No separate electorates → increased reserved seats for Depressed Classes in legislatures

The Idea of Separate Nations

Muslims and Civil Disobedience:
● Muslims generally stayed away from the Civil Disobedience Movement

Muhammad Iqbal’s Proposal (1930):
● Muhammad Iqbal — Urdu philosopher & poet
● Presided → 1930 All-India Muslim League session at Allahabad
● Proposed separate territory for Muslims in northwestern India
●●●➢ Aim: preserve Muslim culture & religious identity
● Increased debate about separateness

Congress’s Position:
● Congress opposed the Two-Nation idea, Including Maulana Azad, Abdul Ghaffar Khan

◉ Jinnah endorsed the idea of Pakistan

Hindu Mahasabha’s Position:
● Hindu Mahasabha, under V.D. Savarkar
● Viewed Hindus and Muslims as two distinct nations living side by side

World War II and the Indian National Army

India and World War II:
● India pulled into the war without being consulted
● 2.5+ million Indian soldiers

Wartime Hardships:
● Shortages of food & goods, high taxes
● Indian grain sent abroad on orders of Winston Churchill (UK PM)
● 1943 → Bengal Famine — millions died
●●●➢ Initial support for British ended
●●●➢ Sacrifing for other
●●●➢ No freedom given

Subhas Chandra Bose:
● Congress leader; broke from Gandhi’s nonviolence
● Freedom will come through armed struggle
● Travelled to Germany for help from anti British forces.

Indian National Army (INA):
● Travelled to Indonesia, Japan, finally Singapore (1943)
● Formed the Indian National Army (INA) — from Indian POWs & volunteers
● Declared the Azad Hind government

INA’s Campaign:
● INA fought alongside Japanese army in:
●●●➢ Burma
●●●➢ Northeastern India — Manipur, Nagaland
● Militarily defeated; failed to establish a base in India

The Quit India Movement

Cripps Mission (1942):
● Churchill for India’s support in WWII, sent Stafford Cripps to India
● Cripps Mission (1942) offered:
●●●➢ Dominion status after the war
●●●➢ Provinces could opt out of India
● C. Rajagopalachari favored acceptance
● Gandhi rejected the offer

Launch of Quit India Movement:
● August 1942 → Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement
● Call: “Do or Die”
● Clear demand: British must leave India at once

Course of Quit India Movement:
● Congress leadership arrested
● Popular uprising:
●●●➢ Mass protests, rallies with “Quit India” banners
●●●➢ Workers’ strikes, students left schools
●●●➢ Attacks on government buildings, uprooted telegraph poles
● Ram Manohar Lohia & Jayaprakash Narayan kept the underground movement going
Viceroy Linlithgow called it the most serious rebellion since 1857
Brutally suppressed — many deaths & arrests across India
Message: British could no longer rule India without Indian consent

Kanaklata Barua:
● Teenage independence activist from Assam
● 1942 → Age 17, shot and killed by British police
● Trying hoisting the Indian flag at police station in Gohpur
● Known as “Birangana” (“heroic woman”)

Partition, Turmoil, and Independence

End of World War II:
● 1945 → WWII ended with victory of Allies (USA, UK, Soviet Union, China) over Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan)
● Era of decolonisation began
● Britain finally thought of giving India independence

Military Mutinies (1946):
● January 1946 → Royal Indian Air Force
● February 1946 → Royal Indian Navy, Bombay
●●●➢ Naval ratings (sailors) rebelled against ill-treatment
● Signal to British: can’t rely on Indian military to maintain their empire

Cabinet Mission (1946):
● Peaceful transfer of power
● Dividing India into three groups of provinces
●●●➢ With complete autonomy except in defense, foreign affairs, communication
● But deadlock between congress and Muslim league

‘Direct Action’

● Demand for a separate Muslim state grew intense
● Jinnah gave up constitutional methods
● Called for “Direct Action Day” — 16 August 1946
●●➢ Urged Muslims to demonstrate for Pakistan
●●➢ Warned → divided India or a destroyed India
● Communal violence in Calcutta
●●➢ Provocative speeches & pamphlets
●●➢ Muslim attacked Hindus, who retaliated
● Thousands killed, thousands displaced

Interim Government:
● September 1946 → Interim Government led by Jawaharlal Nehru took charge

The Partition of India

Background:
● British encouraged Hindu-Muslim differences
● Disagreement between two small communities → Partition

Radcliffe Line:
● July 1947 → Mountbatten (last Viceroy) chose Cyril Radcliffe
● Result: Radcliffe Line — split Punjab and Bengal
Two countries:
⁘⁘⁘ India
⁘⁘⁘ Pakistan — West Pakistan (now Pakistan) + East Pakistan

Independence (15 August 1947):
● New government: PM Jawaharlal Nehru, Governor-General Mountbatten


Historians’ Debate on Britain’s Exit:
● Earlier view: mainly due to Gandhi, nonviolence, Congress policies
● Later recognition of multiple factors:
●●➢ Popular uprisings
●●➢ Revolutionary attempts
●●➢ Royal Indian Air Force & Royal Indian Navy mutinies
●●➢ Britain’s diminished post-WWII status
●●➢ Worldwide trend of decolonisation

◈◈◈◈◈End Of Notes◈◈◈◈◈

FAQs| Ch 2 India’s Long Road To Independence Notes class 8